CENTURION - The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) received 1,708 objections challenging the 2026 Local Government Elections.
Of those objections, 433 were deemed Section 65 objections as provided for in the Act, while 252 have been finalised by the IEC, with three upheld and 249 rejected, involving 12 recounts and seven edit windows, in addition to the revote in Ward Three of the Siyancuma Local Municipality on 18 November.
This revote comes after ballot papers were destroyed before counting could be completed.
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This was revealed by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mosotho Moepya, during a media briefing on outstanding processes that are set to bring the 2026 Local Government Elections cycle to a conclusion on Friday afternoon.
“The objecting parties have been informed or are in the process of being informed of the decisions of the Commission,” he said.
According to Moepya, the nature of the objections comprised four themes.
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These, he said, included alleged counting irregularities and alleged mistakes in the capturing of results, the alleged non-inclusion of the number of special votes in the total number of valid votes for Voting Districts, and an alleged high number of spoilt ballots in Voting Districts.
“Certain submissions did not meet the requirements of section 65. However, the Commission, in dealing with these, has nonetheless remained mindful of its obligations to ensure free and fair elections. It has also channelled several matters for further attention and to form part of the debriefing process so as to distil lessons for future elections."